Signing off, California 3A!
July 24, 2026
It is so hard to believe that our last session is off! These past two weeks have been absolutely awesome, and we’ve made so many memories together that will last far beyond this trip. California has shown us its beauty, and our kids have brought all the fun.
On our last full day in Tahoe, we woke up, had some yummy bagels and fruit for breakfast. Weston ordered a toasted nutella strawberry bagel, it was phenomenal. Soon we headed out to paddle boarding. The sun was shining, and the water was perfectly refreshing. Everyone enjoyed jumping in the water and tanning under the sun.
We enjoyed some sandwiches for lunch, and then headed back to our campsite. We showered and headed into Tahoe City for our town day! Our first stop was a local thrift store. Hudson found a cheap poncho that suited him and rocked it for the rest of the day. What a find! Then we found a coffee shop with the tastiest cookies of all time. After wandering through a bunch more stores, we stumbled upon Rosie’s Cafe, where we ate our dinner. Their burgers and sweet potato fries were fantastic. As we walked back to the campsite, we couldn’t resist another ice cream stop. It was the perfect end to a perfect day! Helen and Weston led us in Moonup for the night, and we reflected on our awesome day.
On our last day in Tahoe, we woke up and packed up camp. We enjoyed another delicious oatmeal breakfast. Unfortunately we discovered a flat tire in one of our cars, so we pivoted and headed back to the Minglewood Coffee shop that we enjoyed so much the day before. We hung around and played another game of “I Love London” which has been a big hit. After enjoying a second (kind-of) town day in Tahoe, we headed back on the road towards Half Moon Bay. After a couple hours on the road and a few pit stops, we arrived back at our lovely home away from home, Moon Crest Valley Ranch. We were greeted by the ranch’s dog Cyprus, and Silas gave him a big hug. After we set up our tents, we began Moonup, led by Kate and Hudson. The boys decided to cowboy camp and slept under the stars!
We woke up for our first day of surfing and ate some farm fresh eggs from the ranch’s chickens, and headed out to Pacifica. The fog slowly lifted as we were putting our wetsuits on, and we quickly jumped into the water with our boards. The sun was shining, and everyone was catching waves. Every single kid was killing it! Alexander and Silas were showing us their crazy moves on the board! Teddy and Weston were also ripping a bunch of waves without any fear. After a couple of hours, we walked our boards back up the beach and headed in the car to a scenic lunch spot on Seal Cove beach. We walked along the cliffs in the sunshine and admired the beautiful views of the ocean from the top. Emily made sure we got a bunch of awesome photos. We ate our last sandwiches of the trip with a calming ocean view. We then wandered around and found some cool trees to climb in. Then, we got back in the car and drove to sailing, but we made a quick, but important stop at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was awe inspiring, and we paused at a cool viewpoint to soak in the incredible view. Then we hopped back in the car to go sailing, where we sailed right by Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. Marley found a comfy spot up front with a blanket and snuggled up on the boat. Hudson and the other boys were being super silly and having a blast chatting with their newfound best friends. The views were stunning, and it was our sunniest sailing of the entire summer. We headed back to our campsite after, and ate another delicious pasta dinner. Kate was the biggest fan of it! Then Alexander and Emily led our Moonup, and we called it a night.
On our last full day in California, we woke up to another farm fresh egg breakfast and took down our tents. We cleaned up our campsite as best we could, and we filled out all of our end of session paperwork. Then we headed out to Pacifica and pranked the kids. We told them that we only had tortillas and nutella left for “sandwiches” and handed them out to them before surfing. Then we finally told them that we were going to the Taco Bell right on the water, which they had been begging to try. Everyone ate a tasty meal and then we put on our wetsuits and headed to the water. It was a foggier day than yesterday, but it didn’t stop us. Maggie was catching so many waves, it was hard to keep count. We found two seals, whom we named Chip and Dale, and they kept swimming right next to us on the board! They were only 2 feet away from Drew at one point, and it looked like they were trying to catch the same waves as her. Helen was showing off her newfound surfing skills and caught so many waves. Kate’s board even broke from catching too many waves! The sun came out right as we walked our boards up to the beach. We changed, got in the cars, and drove to Mussel Rock Beach. We found a nice cove of rocks to sit on and bask in the sun. The boys were looking at crabs, and Hudson picked one up to show us. Weston got some pretty cool photos on his camera. After about an hour, we headed to the thrift store to get some silly outfits for our banquet night. Teddy pulled a remarkable outfit together, and his glasses and backpack made us all giggle. We then arrived at In N’ Out in our goofy outfits and ordered. Their burgers, animal fries, and milkshakes were delicious! We handed out our paper plate awards, and reminisced on our two weeks together. Hudson’s Southern Belle award all made us laugh. He thought it was pretty accurate too. Then we finally headed home and did one final Moonup. We talked about our favorite memories from the trip, and shared gratitude about all our experiences. We then headed off to a short couple hours of sleep, cowboy camping under the stars. We soon woke up at the crack of dawn to go to the airport and soaked in our last few hours together!
Thank you all for sending your kids to California with us. This has been an incredible summer, and we are so grateful to have ended our last session with this amazing group. They pushed themselves to try new things, make new friends, and live in the moment as best they could, and we couldn’t be prouder. We hope they had just as much fun as we did!
All the best,
Louisa, Robin, & Rob
Update from CAL 3A!
July 21, 2026
On our full last day in Yosemite, we woke up and ate some fruit and bagels. Kate LOVED the mangos! She was so happy. Then we set out for our second day of climbing. Our guides brought us to a new spot, with an incredible lookout over Yosemite and Fairview Dome. Silas was having so much fun, climbing route after route. Weston was also enjoying rock climbing, and he was our brave first soul to try rappelling. Alexander, Teddy, and Marley also tried almost every route they could! After climbing, we hiked up Lembert Dome. It was a somewhat steep incline, but we made it up nonetheless! The view was most certainly worth it, as we were able to see a 360 view of all of Yosemite. Hudson thought it was pretty incredible! Once we soaked up the view, we headed back down the dome and rode back to our campsite. The weather was sunny and warm, so we decided to go back to the lake again. Everyone took a dip in the water, and the boys played some good rounds of spike ball. After our hard work climbing and hiking Yosemite, we surprised the kids with a pizza party on the lake beach! Everyone was so excited! Teddy and Alexander helped us scarf down the leftovers, making sure nothing went to waste. As the sun was going down, we headed back in the car and drove to our last cool Moonup spot in Yosemite. We drove to Grant Lake, a beautiful hidden lake right outside Yosemite. Our LODs Weston and Emily led us in an awesome Moonup. It was the perfect end to our time in Yosemite. As we headed home and off to sleep, we saw the California stars shining so bright!
We woke up to another beautiful sunny day, and we packed up our tents and had some delicious muffins and fruit for breakfast. Silas was a big fan of the muffins! Before we hit the road, we played a fun dancing game called “I Love London.” It was so intense, but Kate ended up being our victorious winner! Finally, we said goodbye to Yosemite and started driving. We made a quick stop at Mono Vista, our final grand overlook of the entire Mono basin. It was amazing! After we filled up our stomachs on a delicious lunch, we made the rest of our journey to the South Fork of the American River for our whitewater rafting portion. We arrived at our new campsite, Camp Lotus, and set up our tents. Soon after, everyone jumped into the cold river water after we were all sweating from the heat! Everyone was swimming upstream against the current and having a blast. We finally got our well deserved showers, and began cooking our dinner. We had a yummy stir fry, which quickly became a fan favorite. We hung out around camp, played some spike ball, and then sat around for our first Moonup at Lotus. Our LODs, Silas and Kate, led us for Moonup, and it was full of laughter and fun. We fell right asleep, dreaming of our first day rafting!
After a good sleep in, we woke up and had pancakes for breakfast! We made blueberry, chocolate chip, and banana pancakes. It was so delicious! Once we ate a few too many, we headed out to raft at All Outdoors! We met with our guides, Carly, and Kloe, and headed out onto the river. For our first day, we started with class one and class two rapids. Marley was already having a blast. We pulled over and ate lunch on the side of the river, prepared by our guides. We soon hopped back on the river and entered our first class three rapids. Maggie and Silas getting soaked up front, but were having a great time! Whenever we could swim, Helen and Drew always jumped out and got in the water. They were like fish in the big sea! Our boat got rocked by the class three rapid “Hospital Bar,” but it was so fun. Alexander overcame his fear of rafting and said that he loved it! Finally, we made it down the river, and rode the bus back up to our cars. We showered, hung out, and enjoyed another amazing meal cooked by our raft guides. They made us pesto and marinara pasta, steak, chicken, salad, and garlic bread! It was a feast. To finish off the meal, we had rich chocolate Ghirardelli brownies. Teddy was loving it! Helen and Teddy led us in our Moonup, and we went to bed worn out from all our time on the water. What an awesome day!
After some rest, we awoke to breakfast cooked by our guides. If you haven’t already figured it out, the rafting guides cook the best meals ever! They even gave us some hot chocolate, coffee, and cucumber water. So so so good! Helen loved the hot chocolate! We packed up our tents and loaded up our U-Haul, and headed to All Outdoors again. We got our helmets and life jackets on, and rode a bus to get to our starting point, at the top of the river. We began immediately with some big class three rapids. Emily and Kate were having so much fun in their boat, keeping up the energy and getting everyone excited for the big rapids. Marley was keeping everyone entertained with her interesting stories and lore. Our last big rapid of the day was a class three plus, called Troublemaker. We were all a little nervous, but it ended up being a breeze, only with a couple of big splashes. Soon after, we pulled aside on the river for our last meal prepared by our guides. Their watermelon was so fresh and juicy, and it was gone within seconds. After we ate our sandwiches and wraps, we headed back on the river for a very chill portion, and we got to play some rafting games and jump in. Hudson and Weston stood at opposite ends of the boat, and we rowed in circles, seeing who could stay on the boat longest. They both fell right into the refreshing water, so a winner was unclear, but they all had fun. We arrived back at our outfitter All Outdoors, and changed into some dry clothes before heading back in the car for our long awaited journey to Lake Tahoe. We were sad to leave our rafting but so excited to finally see what all the hype about Tahoe was about! After a short two hour car ride, we arrived in Tahoe City. After we set up our tents, we immediately went for a swim in the lake. The boys set up their spikeball game, and everyone else took a dip in the refreshing water. Soon we headed back, showered, and began cooking our pita pizza dinner. Hudson was a big fan. The sun was setting a pretty pink color as we ate our pizzas together. Maggie and Alexander led our Moonup and did a fantastic job, and then we headed to sleep.
We woke up with another oatmeal breakfast with plenty of fruit, which Alexander couldn’t get enough of! Everyone loves it! We put on our swimsuits and headed to Tahoe Adventure Company for our kayaking. Our guide took us out on the crystal clear water, and we paddled two and a half miles to our lunch spot. Silas and Marley demonstrated how to flip in their kayak safely, cooling off from the hot sun in the chilly water. We pulled over to a rocky beach to eat our sandwiches. The rocks were perfect for skipping, and Drew and Helen were showing us how to skip them. Drew even got 6 skips! We headed back another two and half miles in the kayak, and Alexander and Maggie’s kayak was zooming past everyone. We had an awesome time on the water, and we loved hearing our guide tell us more about Tahoe’s history. We got in the car and started driving, before pulling over for an emergency ICE CREAM STOP! Everyone was so thrilled! Emily was especially happy with her choice of mint chocolate chip. We then wandered to Chimney beach and found an amazing cliff jumping spot. Every single person faced their fears and jumped off! The water was so clear, and everyone enjoyed making a big splash. Weston showed off his canon ball move, making his splash taller than all the rocks! Alexander must have gone about 15 times. He wasn’t getting tired at all! Eventually we made our way back to the campsite after blasting some ABBA songs in the car, and we started making aanother tasty burrito dinner. Teddy and Hudson were so excited. At the end of our day, Silas and Marley led us in Moonup for the night. Off to sleep!
We’ve been having the best week and a half in California, exploring all the beauty of this incredible state. Our group has brought us so much joy, laughter, and memories, and it’s been wonderful to see how everyone is getting along so well and having a blast. Until next time!
Louisa, Robin, & Rob
Weston: Hey Mom and Dad this has been so fun thank you so much for sending me. We are at Lake Tahoe it is so amazing. We went cliff jumping yesterday and it was hype. Thanks Love you tell the pets I’ll miss them bye.
Silas: hey mom 🙂 thanks for giving me this amazing opportunity to stick with me for the rest of my life. It truly has been a blessing to be here and an amazing adventure.
Teddy: Hey mom and dad, I’m having a great time at Moondance and the activities we’re doing. I miss you guys a lot and I can’t wait to see you. Thank you so much for letting me go on this trip.
Hudson: Hey mom and dad and cakes and Ollie! I’m so happy yall sent me on this trip I’m having so much fun. Cant wait to see yall again.
Alexander: Hey mom and dad thank you so much for sending me to Moondance. I am having so much fun. We went cliff jumping, paddle boarding and rock climbing. Can’t wait to see you again!
Kate: dayo mom and dad thank you for sending me it. It’s not like regular camp. There’s so many adventures and I feel like I’ve become a new person here. I can’t wait to come home and see you.😛💩
Emily: hi mom and dad!! Thank you for sending me here it’s so fun!! we went paddle boarding today and it was my favorite thing. I love all my new friends we’re having so much fun. I’m so grateful for this opportunity!!I can’t wait to come home and see you guys. Love you!
Also tell Adair and mb I say hi and I miss them!!
Maggie: hey mom and dad thank you so so much for this opportunity!! I appreciate you guys and how much you do for me soo much. We have had so much fun here with rock climbing, kayaking, paddle boarding, and hiking. I am looking forward to sailing and surf boarding now!! I love and miss you guys and will see yall soon!! Tell Catherine and marybrooks I say hi! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💩💩
Drew Hey mom and dad! Thank you so much for sending me here. I am so grateful and lucky to have this opportunity to be here. It has genuinely been the best experience of my life!!! We have done so many fun things! And my group is so fun!! My favorite thing we’ve done so far is paddle boarding. Can’t wait to see you guys! Love you!
Helen: Hi!! I am having a great time-thank you for letting me come! We went paddle boarding and the water is so clear in Tahoe. I lost my earrings though in the lake.. I can’t wait to see yall soon! Hi Mg!!
Marley: Hi Mamacita and papacita. I miss you guys so much but I’m having so much fun here. We went paddle boarding and I’m so excited to go surfing 🏄🏼. I hope you guys are having fun at crested bute I love soooo much bye!!👋
Hello from Yosemite!
July 16, 2026
It’s been an amazing couple of days, and our group is already getting so close. We are off to an amazing start. We’ve seen some incredible views, and we are really enjoying the natural beauty of California and all it has to offer.
After we picked up everyone from the airport, we drove to Moon Crest Valley Ranch, our campsite in Half Moon Bay. We were greeted by our lovely ranch’s host, Brendan, and his adorable dog, Cyprus. We set up our tents, settled in, and played some ping pong. Off the bat, everyone was so inclusive and excited to meet each other. We knew this group was going to be something special! We gathered around for some yummy pizza for our first meal together. Alexander loved it and helped us finish off the leftovers. Then we headed up about half a mile and hiked to a beautiful view of the valley and ocean in the distance. The golden hour over the valley warranted a photo shoot for the girls. Emily led us in taking some amazing photos over the horizon. The boys played some golf and whiffleball, and Weston got to show us his baseball skills! As the sun set, we headed down the mountain back to where we set up our tents. The sky was an incredible pink cotton candy color, stretching across the entire sky! We had our first Moonup under the beautiful sunset and headed to sleep after a long day of travel.
We woke up pumped for our first real day and for Maggie’s fourteenth birthday! We gave Maggie a birthday headband and enjoyed some fruit, yogurt, and eggs for breakfast. The blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple were gone before we blinked! After packing up our tents and duffels, we began our road trip to Yosemite. After a couple of rounds of wavelength, we stopped halfway at Rodeo Burger. Teddy was so pumped, he ordered two burgers! Weston’s milkshake was gone in seconds. After we fueled up with some food, we headed back on the road through the entirety of Yosemite National Park, and we stopped at a few crazy viewpoints for some impromptu photoshoot! Emily was loving all the photos and scenery! Finally, we arrived at our campsite at June Lake, and everyone immediately went for a swim. The cold water and rain didn’t stop them! We had some delicious pasta for dinner, and Marley was a big fan. After dinner, we made a surprise trip to the general store and picked out some ice cream and whipped cream with Maggie! We headed back to celebrate Maggie’s 14th with cake, candles, ice cream, chocolate sauce, and a whole lot of laughter! After our big celebration, we had Moonup led by our first LODs (Leaders of the Day), Marley and Teddy, who happened to be on the same trip last year in Colorado! We soon headed to bed and got a great night’s sleep under the light rain. We began our first day in Yosemite with a delicious oatmeal breakfast. We headed out to Mammoth Lakes for some beautiful views. We walked around and eventually had our lunch at the Twin Peaks waterfalls. The view overlooking the valley was the perfect spot for a sandwich. Then, we headed to another short hike uphill with a panoramic view of Mammoth. It sure doesn’t get better than that! Hudson, Alexander, and Teddy enjoyed exploring the fields up top and making sure they found the best viewpoint. Then we headed back down and did some shopping in town. A bunch of kids got matching lake-themed pajama shorts to wear to bed. They’re so cute! Then we headed back to our campsite and got another good swim in. We had a Mexican burrito dinner, and Hudson was so thrilled! It was a big hit, and the chips, salsa, and guacamole were gone in seconds.
After dinner, we drove to another beautiful panoramic view of the local Mono Basin for our Moonup, led by Maggie and Alexander. After lots of thoughtful conversation and laughter, we headed back to our campsite and headed to bed early. On day four, we got ready for our first day of rock climbing! We ate some bagels for breakfast before heading out into Yosemite and meeting with our Yosemite Mountain School climbing guides. They took us out to Puppy Dome, and they set up our ropes. The kids crushed it. Even though she was scared, Helen started climbing all the way to the top and showed us how it was done! Soon after, Drew followed and crushed it! It was so nice to hear everyone’s words of encouragement and support for their new friends as they climbed up. Teddy became a lizard on the rocks, climbing faster than almost anyone. Alexander and Weston timed one of their climbs, and they both did one route in under 45 seconds! So impressive! After we climbed and had sandwiches at the top, we headed down to the Tuolumne Meadows and frolicked in the fields. We stopped to pet some adorable dogs, which made Kate and Drew so excited. We walked along the river and enjoyed chatting with each other while out in nature. Silas always knows how to bring good energy to our group and keep us laughing! Soon, we felt some droplets of rain, so we headed back to the cars and to the campsite. Many kids got some peaceful naps on the car ride home. The sun came back out just in time for all of us to head to the beach and get in the water. It was cold, but it didn’t stop anyone from jumping in! Alexander, Weston, Hudson, and Teddy enjoyed an intense game of spikeball, while the rest of us played volleyball on the beach. For dinner, everyone was pumped for Annie’s Mac n’ Cheese and Caesar salad. Alexander couldn’t get enough of the cheddar! After we fueled up, we headed to another insane scenic view of Mono Basin, but this time we caught the sun setting in an incredible pink and orange color over the mountains. I truly haven’t seen a sunset that beautiful in my entire life. Hudson and Drew led our Moonup, and we leaders all agreed that it was our best Moonup spot of the entire summer. As the colors faded into blue, we drove back to our campsite and fell right asleep. These past five days have been awesome, and we are so excited to see how much more awesome it’s gonna get. This group is amazing, and they’re ready for every adventure. We’ll talk to you soon!
Louisa, Robin, & Rob
Shout Outs!
Emily: hi!! I love my group so much and we are having so much fun! The views are so good here! I miss yall a lot and I miss Rigby. Hi MB I miss you so much and I hope you’re having fun in Spain!! Love yall so much!
Helen: Hi!! I am having a lot of fun; we have gone rock climbing and swimming already. It’s pretty but not as hot as expected. Hi Mg and Elizabeth! I hope MGs exercises are going well and tell Cooper I said Hi!!
Kate: dayo sonions, I love my group… I need new shoes, i miss koko and the big four!But I love the adventures
Maggie: Hi mom dad Catherine and mb! I miss you guys but it is so fun here; the views are so pretty. My group is so good and I made so many new friends. I also need new shoes.
Marley: It’s so much fun and thank you so much for sending me. I think Lennon is 2!
Drew: Hey Mom and Dad!!! I am having such a fun timeeee! My group is so fun and funny! I miss you guys!! Love ya!
Alexander: Hi mom and dad I am having a great time. I am missing home cooked meals. We have been rock climbing and hiking. It is so fun, I can’t wait to see you.
Teddy: Hey mom and dad, I’m having a great time in California, doing rock climbing and hiking. Although France lost to Spain, it was great. Can’t wait to see you guys!
Hudson: Hey mom, dad, cakes, and Ollie. I’m having an awesome time at camp. We’ve rock climbed, hiked and swam. It’s been pretty fun love yall !
Silas: Hey mom, dad, chubbs. I’m having an awesome time at camp. We’ve done lots of rock climbing, swimming, and hiking. Anyways, can’t wait to tell yall all about it. Love silas
Weston: Hey Mom, Dad. It has been so amazing. I’ve met some amazing people and the councilors are amazing. We rock climbed and hiked . It is so pretty to tell the pets I’ve missed them. Love Y’all!
Safe Arrival!
July 11, 2026
Hello California Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in San Francisco! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
